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How many kilograms of hydrogen undergo fusion each second in the Sun?

(A) ( 4.48 × 10¹4 ) kg
(B) ( 4.52 × 10¹4 ) kg
(C) ( 4.56 × 10¹4 ) kg
(D) ( 4.60 × 10¹4 ) kg

User Waldyrious
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

About 4.26 × 1014 kg of hydrogen undergoes fusion in the Sun each second, with the closest answer being (C) (4.56 × 1014) kg. The Sun loses about 3.628 × 109 kg of mass per second due to this fusion process.

Step-by-step explanation:

Every second, the Sun converts approximately 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium to produce its energy, a process known as nuclear fusion. Since 1 ton equals about 907,185 kilograms, about 4.26 × 1014 kilograms of hydrogen undergo fusion each second. Answer (C) (4.56 × 1014) kg is closest to this calculated figure. When it comes to how much mass the Sun is losing per second, it's about 4 million tons, which is approximately 3.628 × 109 kilograms, considering that mass is converted into energy according to Einstein's most famous formula, E=mc2.

User Dmitry Senkovich
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